Preview and Export Data
Preview and Export are the final steps in the data workflow. Treat this step as data validation, not only file download.
What to Check in Preview
| Item | Question |
|---|---|
| Scope | Does the data cover the right indicators, countries, provinces, symbols, or commodities? |
| Time | Is the year or reporting-period range sufficient? |
| Unit | Are measurement units consistent? |
| Missing values | Are important years or entities missing? |
| Metadata | Are source, definition, methodology, citation, and notes available? |
| Structure | Is the table long, wide, pivoted, panel-style, or record-level? |
Dashboard Export
- Select indicators.
- Select countries, provinces, or country groups if available.
- Choose year range.
- Choose table structure.
- Enable metadata if the research needs reproducibility.
- Preview.
- Download, or track a full export request when the account has permission.
Exports in Specialized Modules
| Module | Export type |
|---|---|
| GSO Explorer | CSV or Excel, often with Data and Desc/metadata sheets. |
| Customs Explorer | CSV or Excel by selected report and dimension. |
| Survey Explorer | CSV for province-level indicators. |
| VHLSS Variable Hub | Dataset by single-wave, panel, or pooled mode; full export depends on permissions. |
| Stock Hub | Price, financial statement, notes, or events tables by symbol and period. |
Account Permissions
The application distinguishes preview and full export by entitlement. Free accounts usually have preview permissions for sample data; paid plans can create fuller exports.
Post-Download Checklist
- The file has the expected number of rows and columns.
- Metadata or description sheets are saved with the data.
- Indicator names and short codes are preserved.
- Units and sources are not lost when importing into analysis software.
- For multi-source data, keep a record of merge and transformation steps.